A Script In Hand Performance of
The Tempest

by William Shakespeare

November 16th, 2023

Prospero is the exiled Duke of Milan who, along with being a duke, also happens to possess great magical powers. Twelve years before the play starts he escaped a coup d’état in his home country with his young daughter Miranda in tow, and together they have been living on an island while he bides his time and plunges deeper into his magic. Now as he sees his old enemies passing by in a ship, it is time to get his revenge. The action of the play takes place over the course of one day, and it is jam packed with magical creatures, comic villains, and a sublot involving Caliban, who was born on the island, and who Prospero has forced into servitude. Shakespeare creates some truly beautiful poetry in this fantastical play that seems at times like a love poem to the theatre. Prospero is far from a perfect hero though, and we are compelled to attempt to reconcile his acts of violence, and his horrendous treatment of Caliban, with his genius. Prospero himself is forced to face this dichotomy as well, and when he does, the play goes into some interesting and unexpected places.